Decadence...is it really worth it?!?

That's how I'm feeling about my "cheat day"...oie! I had an AMAZING birthday weekend, starting with a free lunch with Heather & a free dinner with Joanne Friday. Followed by a great bday celebration with lots of good friends, hosted by Lorry. Then came Sunday in Niagara on the Lake (NOTL) with Lorry and a glorious cheat day! Lemme tell you what I ate...

I moved my 9 hour window ahead to a 10:30 start, simply because I couldn't wait to dig into the SLAB of chocolate fudge cake from my bday celebration. It was worth the wait, as it was quite yummy. However, I knew the day was going to be a challenge, when I ate the ENTIRE slab of cake in one sitting...in one gulp, almost! Remember I said I was gonna "exercise control"...who was I trying to kid? This was ME, after all...the person who ate Turtles ice cream even when her mouth was frozen and couldn't taste it anymore. This, then, is the person who will exercise self-control on a cheat day?!? Lemme just say....it's all good learning....

So, you know about the ton 'o' fudge cake I had for breakfast. After that, I went to Lorry who, thankfully, was the driver to NOTL. I simply couldn't focus on anything as my head and body were reacting to my sugar overload. By the time we reached NOTL, I was crashing down so we walked the main drag for a bit, then headed to The Angel Inn, our favourite stomping ground for lunch. There I had French onion soup and a small, Greek salad with chicken. I thought that was a good combination of should and shouldn't...ya know...protein & veggies (should) with cheese (shouldn't). So far, I'm ok...I'm thinkin'...then we hit all the stores again. While I resisted the fudge, I did indulge in sampling many gourmet tapinades and jellies and sauces and peanut butters (yes, gourmet peanut butters, like dark chocolate PB and chocolate banana PB and, my favourite, chocolate chunk PB). All of these samples were on itty bitty pieces of bread...more freakin' carbs! Oh, and did I mention our adventure to Pickards where Lorry picked up chocolate covered sponge taffy (I ate 2 pieces) and I hoovered as many garlic & onion flavoured peanut chipits that I could in the 5 minutes we were there?!? Getting the picture people? This is yt's version of "self control"...scary isn't it?!?

By the time I made it home, I was on carb overload and into disaster recovery mode. So, I drank LOTS of water for the rest of the evening....worked out on the treadmill (hill program, level 12, speed of 3 - my personal best to date) and did weights. Then, when I finished the workout, I ate my yogurt & berries. I did manage to stay within my 9 hour window, but sheesh! What a crazy 9 hours it was!

So, poppits...I'm all about the lessons learned. Here they are:
- when I say "I can practice self-control", I'm a liar, liar pants on fire! Oh, someday I will get there, but not in the near future
- the post-cheat day headache and lethargic behaviour simply wasn't worth the carbs overload
- I need to (and will) find the right balance so that I enjoy the freedom without killing myself in the process! Perhaps my "cheating" will come in the form of a new outfit or something material that doesn't get shoved into my mouth. I will figure this out. I am, however, open to suggestions/ideas. Anyone?!?

In the meantime, I still have 20 lbs to go to meet my next goal, so I want to hunker down and get back on it. I really do feel better when I eat properly. I just have to keep reminding myself of that!

Today I'm off to TO for a workout with the Evil One. I'm kinda looking forward to the torture, but don't tell HIM that!

Have a great day, boyz & girlz!
(a) yt xox